M.G. Herron's Blog, page 16

Cold weather means fires

It’s cold enough now that we can use our fireplace again!

One of my favorites parts of the dark season. It almost makes the shorter days worth it.

Stay cozy.

The post Cold weather means fires

Today was uneventful

Inevitably, as with any significant undertaking, there are days when I am tempted to say “screw it” and skip the daily blog.

Today is one of those days.

Perhaps it is because today was uneventful. I went to the gym and I worked. And then I worked some more.

Or perhaps it is because my focus is on the novel and what’s going on in my freelance work.

Either way, one of those days. Not much else to say. I’m going to go finished reading The Lives of Tao and have a glass of wine, and then probably...

It is change, continuing change…

“It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be … This, in turn, means that our statesmen, our businessmen, our everyman must take on a science fictional way of thinking.”

– Isaac Asimov, “My Own View” in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1978) edited by Robert Holdstock; later published in Asimov on Science Fic...

Much blood has also been spilled…

“Much blood has also been spilled on the carpet in attempts to distinguish between science fiction and fantasy. I have suggested an operational definition: science fiction is something that COULD happen – but usually you wouldn’t want it to. Fantasy is something that COULDN’T happen – though often you only wish that it could.”

– Arthur C. Clarke

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A third of the way on Translocator 3

Almost two weeks since my last update on Translocator 3. Now I’m sitting at just over 32,000 words, which is about a third of the way to done if I use my upper limit of 90k as a gauge.

I didn’t find much time to write over the weekend but I got back on the wagon today. Managed 450 words on the novel and another 800 words for a fiction writing workshop assignment for a total of 1250 words for the day.

I’ve been learning and doing at the same time. I figure I can trade a few words on the book o...

Artwork from the launch of THE REPUBLIC

It’s time for me to release the beautiful artwork that I had commissioned for the launch of The Republic to the world.

Originally created for the launch of my novel, it was only available for people who bought the book.

But I thought, what the heck. This art should be for everyone to enjoy. So here it is.

In the future, you can find this sort of bonus material stuff on the book pages for each novel. Here’s the book page for The Republic, for example.

•••

Artwork for The Republic

First up, a s...

Another day on the fence

Another day working on the fence, so no new words today. I’m beat.

It’s hard work but coming together nicely. We got the rest of the supplies purchased, and I figure we’ll be done soon…maybe not tomorrow, but a day or two after that.

Here’s the garage, full of the aforementioned supplies.

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Deleted scene from The Republic: Soldiers

This is a deleted scene from my novel, The Republic. It takes place in Episode 4: High Crimes, and looks at a pivotal moment in the story, but from a new character’s perspective, a soldier who is also an APU mechanic.

SOLDIERS

by M.G. Herron

Private Rajit Kapur tossed the blackened rag to the ground and stood, arching his back against the stiffness in his muscles. He drew a dirty sleeve across his face, but sweat still skidded down his greasy brow to sting his eyes. In the distance, a lantern...

This is how you do it…

“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It’s that easy, and that hard.”

Neil Gaiman

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Fast drafting mindset on Day 1 of NaNoWriMo

Today is day 1 of NaNoWriMo.

Which means thousands and thousands of people are setting out on the crazy journey to write a 50,000 word novel in one month.

That’s 1667 words a day.

Which is awesome. Crazy awesome.

Good luck to all the writers. You got this. Buckle in and get to work.

I didn’t plan on doing NaNo this year, partly because I’m 25k into a novel already and partly because I’m juggling a lot of projects right now and didn’t know if I could handle that time commitment.

I was only th...